


In Absence of Noise

by GillyTweed



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Cuddles, Fluff, Gen, Oneshot, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Set during the Iron Shepards arc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-06-18
Packaged: 2020-05-14 08:39:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19269670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GillyTweed/pseuds/GillyTweed
Summary: Beau asks Molly to help her cut her hair.





	In Absence of Noise

**Author's Note:**

> The dice stole a chance at having a dope Brotp.

“Hey, uh, Molly…?” He looked up from his sword at the softness of Beau’s voice. She usually had some form of confidence in her tone, performed or otherwise, but now it seemed to be absent. She was awkwardly standing on the threshold of their shared room, gaze cast downward as her hands fiddled with something small. Her hair was down, the strands hanging in a curtain around her face.

“Hm?” He gave a noncommittal noise in response, soft and non confrontational as he pretended to turn his attention back to his task. Beau seemed ready to bolt, nervous energy crackling under her skin. He continued the motions of tending to his swords, polishing and sharpening, while watching Beau out of the corner of his eye.

“Could you maybe,” She paused again, taking a deep breath as her hands stilled. “Could you help me with my hair?” She flipped the blade of the razor open, showing him the tool. “Jester usually helps me, and I was going to ask Yasha but…”

They’re gone.

He stilled, giving her his full attention. While they’d found rooming with each other hadn’t been as terrible as they first thought, they hadn’t yet crossed into each others space like this. Sure, they’d propped each other up after fights, dragged each other to bed when the alcohol had been flowing a little too liberally, but they had yet to truly ask for help. He wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about showing that level of vulnerability.

“Sure, I can do that. Can’t promise it’ll look very good though.” He set his swords aside and stood, grabbing a chair from their rooms table and presenting it with a flourish. He waited patiently as she shuffled into the room and sat down. She snapped the razor closed and deposited it into his hand. It was a fine piece of craftsmanship. The handle was made from some form of ivory or bleached stone, stark white against the blue inlaid symbol of Ioun.

“Hold still, alright,” He felt Beau stiffen as he got to work, gathering the long bits of her hair and tying them into a bun on top of her head. The hair around the sides had grown out by about two or three inches, much longer than he’d ever seen it. No doubt she’d left it until the last possible moment. The hair was soft and fine against his fingers, and it took a surprising amount of willpower to not simply run his hand through it.

“I’m gonna start.” He flipped the blade open with a click, briefly inspecting the edge before bringing it to rest at the base of Beau’s neck. He wasn’t entirely sure what he was doing, always having had his hair done by Yasha, but it didn’t take long for him to find a comfortable pattern. Hair fell away in small chunks, leaving behind soft bristle. As time went on, Beau seemed to relax. Her shoulders dropped incrementally until the muscles were loose and her breathing was low and even. The anxious energy from before bled away with each soft scrape of the blade.

“Don’t fall asleep on me, Darling.” The term of endearment slipped out before he was even aware of it. A low hum was her only response, surprising him with the calm serenity. It made him pause and swallow, a small warmth nestling in his chest. He hadn’t thought about it until now, but it felt nice to be trusted. Beau trusted him to help her, trusted that he would hold a sharp blade to her head and not hurt her. He worked in silence for another few minutes, his tail flicking with excited agitation. When he was finished, he placed a gentle hand on Beau’s shoulder.

“All done. You might want to wash off.” Beau started, turning and blinking like she hadn’t realized any time had passed.

“Uh, yeah, thanks.” Her words were slow and slightly stumbling. She grabbed the razor from him as she stood. She looked sleepy, like she was ready for a nap. She left the room idly rubbing her freshly cut hair, small tufts falling from her shoulders.

It took several moments for him to start moving once she was gone. His whole body vibrated with an anxious energy. His palm tingled with warmth. Shaking himself, horn jewelry jangling, he forced his feet to move. He needed to clean up the hair that littered the floor, finish tending his swords then get ready for bed .

He jogged to the inns hall closet, everything feeling like it was moving too fast and too slow at the same time, and grabbed a broom and dust pan. It took only seconds to clean up the hair, but the walk down to the waste area felt like an eternity. His skin continued to crawl as he made his way back upstairs, and suddenly he ached for Yasha.

He knew that simply being near her would calm him, and a hug would make him fully relax. He missed their casual affection, and it felt like forever since he’d felt the proper warmth of another person. He lashed his tail as he returned to the room, swallowing thickly when he caught sight of Beau. She turned to look at him, blinking as she stood next to her bed, face and neck clean of hair but still looking just as tired as before.

“Hey, Beau, can I ask you for a favour?” She turned further, fully facing him now.

“Uh, sure-” She couldn’t even finish before he’d wrapped his arms around her and buried his face into her shoulder. She stiffened in his hold, and he was certain she was about to punch him in the gut, but then she relaxed, sliding her arms around his back. He felt her let out a shaky breath then tucked her head against his neck.

The hug felt shockingly natural, warm and comforting. It felt nothing like a hug from Yasha as Beau was much smaller and had a more wiry frame, but it calmed the buzzing energy that crackled under his skin all the same. He let out a deep sigh, some of the tension in his body melting away as he brought a hand up to cradle the back of Beau’s heads. The freshly shorn hair was soft to the touch and he could swear he heard Beau purr when he ran his fingers over it.

Several long minutes passed as they stood there, silently taking in the comfort and warmth. Beau leaned further into him, making him smile as he took more of her weight. His thumb had fallen into a rhythm of sweeping over the bristled hair just behind her ear, the sensation and pattern soothing.

“As much as I’m okay with this, I think I’m gonna fall asleep on you.” Beau’s words were muffled and slurred, her exhaustion obvious as she remained relaxed against him.

He hums, not ready to move just yet either. “Well, the beds are big enough for two people, and I won’t tell if you don’t.”

Beau pulled away, blinking at him. “You want to what? Share warmth or something?”

He shrugs. “I’d call it cuddling but if that’s what you want to call it, sure.” Beau sighed but didn’t argue, instead flopping over onto her bed with a groan.

He took a couple moments to check over swords, spending a minute or two longer than necessary to let Beau squirm around and get comfortable. Without much ceremony, she tugged off her vest, shoes and socks, chucking them across the room before burrowing down under the blankets. Normally he’d at least sleep shirtless, if not nude, but knowing Beau he’d probably get a devastating elbow to the nuts, so instead he settled for pants and one of his lighter shirts.

When he crawled under the blankets he expected to sleep back to back, but Beau surprised him rolling over and firmly planting her face into his chest. “I’m not getting a horn to the face…” She mumbled as her only explanation. He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her, not minding the contact at all.

“G’night Beau.” He chuckled as he reached over to turn down the gas lamp. She hummed in response, her limbs wrapping around him like a koala. With a sigh, he relaxed. He let his hand run gently over the shaved parts of Beau’s head, and when she didn’t object, stroking it until he felt his mind cloud with sleep.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me over on Twitter and Tumblr @GillyTweed


End file.
